Annual Report 2020 Is Sent to Shareholders
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CORPORATE DIRECTORY ABN 27 009 066 648 Registered Office Level 1, 45 Royal Street East Perth WA 6004 Tel: +61 8 6241 3800 [email protected] Principal Administrative Office PT17212 Jalan Gebeng 3 Kawasan Perindustrian Gebeng 26080 Kuantan, Pahang Darul Makmur Malaysia Tel: +60 9 582 5200 Fax: +60 9 582 5291 [email protected] Share Register Boardroom Pty Ltd Level 12, Grosvenor Place 225 George Street Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Tel: +61 2 9290 9600 Fax: +61 2 9279 0664 [email protected] Auditors Ernst & Young 200 George Street Sydney NSW 2000 Australia 2020 ANNUAL REPORT www.lynascorp.com Contents Letter from the Chairman ii CEO Review v Consolidated Financial Report 1 Corporate Directory Information 2 Directors’ Report 4 Sustainability Statement 18 Remuneration Report – Audited 19 Directors’ Declaration 31 Auditor’s Independence Declaration 32 Independent Auditor’s Report 33 Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income 40 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position 41 Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity 42 Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 43 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 44 Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves 75 Additional Information 78 Cover photography by Martine Perret Lynas Corporation Limited | 2020 Annual Report i Letter from the Chairman It gives me great pleasure to present the 2020 Annual Report to our shareholders. Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the second half of the financial year was particularly challenging for people and businesses all over the world. For Lynas, this included a six-week temporary production halt as a result of the Malaysian government’s Movement Control Order. Lynas has come through this period in good shape thanks to prudent capital management over a number of years, as well as the extensive COVID-19 health and safety protocols implemented at both of our sites. We continue to work towards the Lynas 2025 growth vision and despite COVID-19, the project teams made good progress on key growth initiatives during the year. Some key highlights of the year were as follows: • Lynas continued to deliver further improvement in safe operation with a 12-month rolling lost time injury frequency rate of 0.8 per million hours worked (2019: 0.9 per million hours). • Certification to Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems and ISO standards were maintained during the year for both the Western Australian and Malaysian operations. In November 2019, the AELB completed its pre-licence renewal audit of the Lynas Malaysia operations. All regulatory conditions were in compliance. The audit result was “Very Satisfactory”, which is the highest performance rating and the third audit in a row Lynas has achieved a “Very Satisfactory” performance rating. • Cash flows from operating activities continued to be positive and have allowed the Group to invest in expansion activities and reduce debt. Positive operational cash flows over the past 3 years have exceeded $270m, excluding costs associated with the discharge of rehabilitation obligations relating to residue disposal in Malaysia. • Lynas recorded an EBITDA of $59.8m for the year (FY19: $100.7m), which was heavily influenced by the 6 week temporary shutdown of the Lynas Malaysia plant from late March 2020 to early May 2020, in accordance with the Malaysian government’s COVID-19 Movement Control Order. Mt Weld operations were also temporarily shut down from early April to mid-June 2020 after target inventory levels of concentrate stocks were reached. A company-wide focus on cost management and other non-operational work limited the effect on cash flows during this period. ii www.lynascorp.com • Net sales revenue for FY2020 was $305.1m (FY19: $363.5m) and total sales “I would like volume was 14,172 REOt (FY19: 19,154 REOt). to take this • Project teams were established and progress was made on key Lynas 2025 projects, in particular the planned Kalgoorlie Rare Earth Processing Facility and opportunity to the proposed Heavy Rare Earths plant. During the year, Lynas received notifica- tion of the U.S. Department of Defense’s intention to award a Phase 1 contract thank you for for the Heavy Rare Earths plant to Lynas. • The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened customer and government interest in your support over securing reliable and diversified Rare Earths supply for growing industries. Lynas is the only significant producer of separated Rare Earth materials outside of the past five and China and therefore Lynas is in an ideal position to benefit from the desire for a half years” greater supply chain diversity. • By August 2020, the Convertible Bond holders had converted the remaining US$13.7m of issued bonds. As of 3 August 2020, Lynas’ only remaining debt is the JARE loan facility with a principal amount of US$145m. In late February 2020, the Lynas Malaysia operating licence was renewed for a three year period to March 2023. The achievement of a three year licence subject to acceptable conditions provides the foundation for the future operation of the Lynas Malaysia business. As this is my final letter to Shareholders before I retire as Chair and Non-executive Director of the Lynas Board on 30 September 2020, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support over the past five and a half years. Lynas Corporation Limited | 2020 Annual Report iii Letter from the Chairman As Lynas embarks on the next phase of its development with the Lynas 2025 growth “...our company’s plan I felt that it was an appropriate time to transition to a new Chair who can see the growth projects through to completion. I’ve been proud to lead the Board as we proven track record, overcame many challenges to become a global leader in the Rare Earths industry. together with our I’m delighted that Kathleen Conlon is succeeding me as Chair, as this will ensure that the Company continues to benefit from her longstanding experience with Lynas as well swift response as her extensive expertise in the fields of business strategy and operations. to the pandemic, On behalf of my Board colleagues, I would like to thank CEO Amanda Lacaze, the Lynas executives, and all members of the Lynas team for their hard work and resilience during has placed us in these challenging times. The Board would also like to thank you, our shareholders, for your ongoing support this the best possible year. We understand this has been a difficult year for many people and we are confident position to that our company’s proven track record, together with our swift response to the pandemic, has placed us in the best possible position to continue to create value for continue to our shareholders and our customers and to benefit our people and our communities. create value for our shareholders...” Mike Harding Chairman iv www.lynascorp.com CEO Review Our resilient business and strong focus on cost management delivered solid revenue and positive operating cashflows, despite the challenges of FY20. The COVID-19 pandemic made for a challenging year for Lynas, as it did for many businesses around the world. Our FY20 financial performance was affected by the COVID-19 related temporary shutdown as well as lower market prices and the temporary production halt in December after we reached the annual concentrate processing limit for calendar year 2019. However we have built a resilient business and despite the lower market pricing, our performance in quarters not affected by the production halts remained strong. Responding to COVID-19 Our strong safety culture meant that both of our sites could quickly implement government and industry best practices in March 2020 to protect the health and wellbeing of our workforce and our local communities. At the same time, our resilient workforce adapted to new ways of working and our people who were unable to be on site used the time productively. Importantly, we continued to pay all of our employees whether they were working on site, working from home or were not rostered on. While demand for Rare Earth products has been affected by the global COVID-19 situation, market prices for NdPr have improved in recent months. It may take a few more quarters to clarify the effects on demand and market prices, including the effects of government economic policies. Making progress on Lynas 2025 projects In FY20, we continued to progress key Lynas 2025 projects, including our planned Kalgoorlie Rare Earth Processing Facility and proposed Heavy Rare Earth separation facility. The Kalgoorlie Rare Earth Processing Facility, which is expected to create up to 500 jobs during construction and 100 new ongoing jobs once operational, was awarded Lead Agency status by the State Government of Western Australia and Major Project status by the Australian federal government during the year. • A dedicated project team was established, front end engineering design was completed and the tender for the longest lead item, the kiln, was released and has been awarded. The development of Heavy Rare Earths separation capability is an attractive and strategic project to meet the needs of our customers and during the year Lynas was selected for Phase 1 of the U.S. Department of Defense tender for a U.S. based Heavy Rare Earths separation plant. Lynas Corporation Limited | 2020 Annual Report v CEO Review On 17 August 2020, we announced a $425m equity raising to fund the Lynas 2025 “A highlight of foundation project, our planned Kalgoorlie Rare Earth Processing Facility and associated changes at the Lynas Malaysia plant. We were delighted with the support shown by existing FY20 was the shareholders and new investors for the equity raising. With the completion of this raising we renewal of our have confidence the project will be delivered and operational by mid-2023.